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20 stray cattle deaths in one month at Industrial area Gaushala
MC attributes deaths to cold weather and pre-chronic illness, Congress seeks probe
As many as 20 stray cattle have died at the municipal corporation’s (MC) cattle pound in Industrial Area in the past one month.
While MC officials attribute the deaths to cold weather and pre-chronic illness, the Congress has cried foul, claiming that it was the result of MC’s mismanagement, since the pound was not equipped with proper facilities for the cattle sheltered there.
Former Congress mayor Subhash Chawla said it was ironic that the deaths were occurring in the tenure of BJP-ruled MC, even though the party regularly indulged in politics around cows.
“When I was the mayor in 2013, the BJP councillors used to create commotion over the death of even a single stray cow. Now, cattle are dying every now and then, and the ruling party is completely silent on the matter,” Chawla said.
Bhagat Ram, the pound’s caretaker, confirmed the 20 deaths, but said there was no disease outbreak. “Most of the dead cattle were aged or had chronic diseases. Work to improve the facilities is already underway. Recent rain hampered the work’s progress, but there will be visible difference in the facilities by March,” he said.
Dr MS Kamboj, a MC’s senior monitoring, said there was no need to be alarmed. “Efforts are being made to improve the pound’s infrastructure,” he added.
‘INJURED COWS NOT BEING TREATED’
Congress local president Pardeep Chhabra demanded that MC should investigate the exact cause of deaths. He said the cows were dying after being trapped in heaps of cow dung. “The injured animals are not being treated in time. There is not enough food for them and drinking water is also dirty. Rainwater and cow waste is scattered all over the gaushala,” he said.
“Congress had raised the matter earlier as well, but the BJP-led MC did not take adequate measures to improve the pound’s appalling conditions,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Shankar Tiwari said the BJP leaders claimed to be “gausevaks”, but hardly had any concern for the plight of cows here. Worse, MC was not even interested in listening to NGOs who were ready to run these facilities, Tiwari said.
